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[Cookie Monster]

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Edited May 4, 2021 by Ocean Form

[hod]

My favriote translation is Deng Ming-Dao's, but Alfred Huang's ain't bad either. Really, the only difference is each translators's spin on what they feel the I Ching is about. So in my opinon, the best thing to do is look inside and read some of the chapters and just see which one makes more sense to you or speaks to you about the things you want from the book.

 

Cleary's translation is one of my least favriote. I think he is too literally and looses a lot of meaning. I once red a Don Quixote english translation from the 1600's and I couldn't barely understand what was being said - in english. The way they arranged their sentences, the words they used, the common sayings that weren't common anymore; it was just really hard to understand it.

 

The I Ching was written over two thousand years ago, a literal translation has so many short hands, long lost sayings and out-of-date expextations of what the ready knows, that a mondern person would have no idea what they were reading. That is why I feel it's imperative to have an author who helps out by decifering what they feel it means. They may not be right, but that is why it is best to have multiple version to reference, in the hope you can find the middle ground or true meaning somewhere in there.

Edited October 22, 2014 by hod

[Daeluin]

Many people offer their recommendations for I Ching books here:
http://thetaobums.com/topic/10646-best-book-dvds-on-i-ching/

 

Also:

http://thetaobums.com/topic/24214-looking-for-a-book-that-explain-the-i-ching/

Edited October 22, 2014 by Daeluin

[Cookie Monster]

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Edited May 5, 2021 by Ocean Form

[Michael Sternbach]

A version that is really authentic is Richard Wilhelm's I Ching. C.G. Jung contributed a foreword to the English translation, but the main text is the original one with comments by a Chinese sage added to the 'bare bones' (but kept clearly apart from the latter). If you like 'classical', I would go for this one.

[Harmonious Emptiness]

Depends on what you're reading/using it for.

 

I've been enjoying "The Buddhist I Ching" recently, commentary written around early mid 16th century Chih-hsu Ou-i, translated by Cleary. It's especially for the internal application, and demonstrates an excellent knowledge of the significance of changes in the lines.

 

For determining courses of action, I like Zhongxian Wu's "Seeking the Spirit of the Book of Changes."

Edited October 27, 2014 by Harmonious Emptiness

[Cookie Monster]

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Edited May 5, 2021 by Ocean Form

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Edited May 5, 2021 by Ocean Form

[Aetherous]

Found a random yijing thread...

 

Anyone check this version out? Its clarity really appeals to me (although I'm interested more in philosophy and not at all in divination).

Also...does anyone have good resources for Chinese numerology in relation to the yijing...as well as info on the trigrams, or basically how and why the yijing was created as it is?

[Shidifen]

I haven't read Margaret Pearson's translation yet. Thanks for the heads up.

 

If you're after some info on why the Yijing is the way it is, books with the full translation like Richard Wilhelm's and Richard Lynn's contain the various Wings which explain the Yijing in more detail. You can find full versions of both on the web. There's also a few other translations made freely available in PDF form that delve into the nuts and bolts of the Yijing. Bradford Hatcher has a version that explains a lot of the classical Chinese, as well as a word by word translation manual. You can find it at-

 

http://www.hermetica.info/

 

Its download link is-

 

http://www.hermetica.info/Yijing-Two.zip

 

You might also be interested in "The Judgement’s and Law’s of the Sacred Mountain (An Investigation of the Math and Narrative in the I Ching – The Chinese Book of Changes)." by Paul Martyn-Smith. He gives a translation plus copious notes on the Wings and Yijing number theory.

 

You can find it here-

 

http://www.academia.edu/

 

You'll need to be a member to download it but it's free to join. I have only skimmed over it so I can't really say its what you're looking for. It's fairly big, 447 pages.

[scribe]

Found a random yijing thread...

 

Anyone check this version out? Its clarity really appeals to me (although I'm interested more in philosophy and not at all in divination).

 

Also...does anyone have good resources for Chinese numerology in relation to the yijing...as well as info on the trigrams, or basically how and why the yijing was created as it is?

 

Huang has written a 'partner' book to his I Ching translation on the numerology of it, which is pretty fascinating:

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Numerology-Ching-Sourcebook-Traditional-Structutres/dp/0892818115/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1425680057&sr=8-1&keywords=i+ching+numerology

 

Some parts are more structured, lengthy or interesting than others and I'm only half way through, but it's a good way in to thinking through some of the mathematical structures involved, as well as some insights into the ordering of the I Ching.

[MTmind]

I have recently started using the Yijing after a break of many years. I asked my daughters to choose one for me and they gave me the Huang version. Really liking it.

I also remind myself that reading and understanding is one thing... applying it is another much deeper commitment. 

 

Thanks for the thread. 

[Basil]

For a beginner, I'd recommend Alfred Huang's version.  It has a very straightforward layout and a good mix of commentaries and historical context.  I have to admit, though, that I'm a reader of the Eranos and Richard Lynn's Wang Bi version.